Using a pupil-centred approach
One way of going about this might be to develop a set of modular projects for pupils to choose from, structured so that there is a clear progression from easier to harder projects.
Another pupil-centred method would be to use an enquiry-based approach at the beginning of each half-termly unit: briefing pupils on the overall topic, and then establishing what they already know and what they’d like to find out. The unit can then be planned in detail around areas of particular interest to pupils.
There are ample resources available to support a more independent approach to learning Computing. Scratch and Kodu have vibrant user communities; online interactive tutorials provide an introduction to programming languages such as Ruby13 and Javascript,14 and there are many tutorials and walkthroughs on Khan Academy15 and YouTube.
